Words and Pictures

September 30, 2009

Restaurant Review: Pizzeria 712

Pizza joints are a mainstay in Utah County. Be it five bucks
a pie or pizza brought to your door by a struggling college student, you’ll
never be short options when it comes to a quick, cheap meal. But if you want
something different that tastes fresh, and, dare I say it, even gourmet, head
over to Pizzeria 712, my newest favorite place in Orem.

I heard about Pizzeria 712 from an article in Salt Lake
Magazine. I’ve found SL Magazine’s recommendations to be right on the mark, so
when I ended up in Utah County around lunch time with my kids in tow, I thought
I’d give it a try. But finding the location turned out to be harder than I
thought.

Pizzeria 712 is not a stand-alone operation. But it’s also
not in a strip mall. Do not look for flashing neon lights or a short cartoon
character dressed in a toga spearing a slice of cheap pizza. First of all,
Pizzeria 712 is not that kind of place. Second, Pizzeria 712 is housed on the
bottom floor of a half-finished condo development that resembles a bombed-out
building in Europe. Call it a casualty of the recession, if you will. Had it
not been for my kids, I would still be driving back and forth in the general
area where it seemed this restaurant should be. “Mom, there’s a sign,” one of
my sons yelled when I made my fourth pass. Sure enough, strung across the
bomb-building was a banner with “Pizzeria 712” printed in huge letters. We
meandered through the empty parking lot until we finally spied a cluster of
cars, a few benches and young trees, and the treasure we were looking for.

Immediately, you’ll sense that Pizzeria 712 is going to be
delicious. Its small dining area is clean and uncluttered, decorated in neutral
colors and charming paintings. What’s more, it’s filled with the kind of quiet
natural light that lends itself to heartfelt conversations and contemplative
eating (wish I could say the same about my house). It reminded me a lot of San
Francisco eateries, where the furnishings are modern and understated and the
clientele quiet. Yet, for all its big-city sophistication, Pizzeria 712 is
still family friendly. (We are, after all, still in Utah, AKA the kid factory.)
When I walked in with my kids, there were no heavy sighs or rolling eyes from
the waiter, just good service from start to finish. It also helps that the
kitchen and dining area are separated by a chest-high counter, making it
possible for kids to watch the chef spin dough on the tip of his finger, toss
it into the air, pile it with toppings and then slide it into a brick oven the
likes of which you only imagined in Hansel and Gretel. My youngest found the
process so entertaining; he sat on his knees so he could see the whole show.

I’ll be straight with you. Pizzeria’s menu has a few exotic
items on it, like pizza with potato and rosemary. I watched my children to see
how they would react. “Don’t they have Hawaiian pizza here?” my youngest asked.
“Yeah,” my middle child piped in, “or pepperoni?”They flipped the menu back and forth, searching for their old
standbys. As for my oldest, he studied the menu like an archaeologist
deciphering an ancient language scrawled on the side of a cave. Meanwhile, the
heavenly smell of melting cheese and simmering tomato sauce awakened my
stomach, which at that moment growled loudly. Luckily, our waiter happened by
at just that moment.

“Do you have just cheese pizza?” I asked, figuring that if
all else failed, I could order myself a small, gourmet pizza and then head to
McDonald’s for the kids. “We have the margarita,” he answered. That sounded
suspiciously alcoholic to me. But then we found out that it was just cheese
with basil leaves on top. That seemed safe enough to the kids, especially when
the waiter told them the leaves so big they could take them off if they didn’t
like them. A few minutes after ordering, the waiter brought a plate of pita
bread and hummus. We each took a triangle of homemade pita, soft and pliable in
our hands, and scooped it in the hummus. Though they’ve never had hummus
before, my kids declared it delicious. I agreed. And I would have had more, but
the kids swarmed the little appetizer plate like angry hornets, so I just
watched. Besides, I wanted to save my appetite for the pizza.

Turns out, that was a good decision. I can honestly say that
I nearly swooned with the first bite. So did my children. My middle child
moaned, “Oh, oh, oh” so many times while he ate that I finally had to tell him
to keep it down. (It was a little too reminiscent of the restaurant scene in When
Harry Met Sally.) With each successive bite
I was met with a new flavor, and I did my best to decipher what exactly made it
so good. When I finished my first slice, I concluded that everything made the pizza good, from the crust to the toppings.
The fresh, bright sauce must have been made with garden tomatoes straight from
the farm, not the grocery store (though this is not confirmed, just
conjecture). The chewy, dense crust was made from scratch and kneaded by
hand—that I had witnessed for myself. And the cheese—which was silky, not
rubbery and chewy—must be the product of some very happy cows nibbling on clean grass in a
big open field. As for the basil, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been
plucked from a live plant moments earlier. While I chewed thoughtfully,
enjoying the party going on in my mouth, I decided right then and there that if
I had to choose my last meal on earth, this would be it. And then I would choose it
as my first meal in Heaven.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We love the Pizzeria as much as it sounds like you did. To give you another option we just opened our second restaurant, Communal, in downtown Provo. No pizza but plenty of delicousness.

Okay, when I was 8 wks pregnant with Lauren, Mike and I took one last couples vacation to France. It was fabulous....except we often got back to our hotel late at night and STARVING! (The real reason French women are skinny) The only place we could find open was a little 'pizza hut' across the street from our hotel. I think we ate that pizza four nights in a row and on top of the changes pregnancy makes to an appetite, it was pretty much disgusting. It RUINED pizza for me...especially when I am pregnant.

...However, your description of this Pizzaria 712 actually made me salivate! Sounds like the kind the make in Italy. Yum!